Updated

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have completed a major offensive along Yemen's Red Sea coast, reportedly seizing the strategic island of Perim (Mayun) and cementing control over the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, raising alarm over shipping lanes and oil prices. Yemeni government forces say they have struck back against Houthi fighters in the Red Sea city of Mocha as civilians flee renewed fighting, while the Houthis claim to have launched a drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia's Sharurah military base and accuse Riyadh of carrying out 129 air strikes in 48 hours across Taiz, Marib, Hodeidah, Al-Jawf, Saada, Amran and Hajjah. US President Donald Trump said the Houthis contacted Washington asking it not to intervene in their spiraling conflict with Saudi Arabia, adding that the group is allowing most shipping through the strait except for vessels linked to one country. The exchange follows reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had urged Trump to strike the Houthis amid the escalating Red Sea threat, underscoring the rapidly widening scope of the conflict beyond Yemen's borders.